Sydney Mother Attacked by Shark Speaks First Words After Waking from Coma

A Sydney mother mauled by a suspected white shark at Coogee Beach has spoken her first words after briefly waking from an induced coma.

Leah Stewart was taken to hospital in a critical condition after the attack on Saturday, June 13 and underwent surgery to amputate her arm and address other "life-threatening" injuries, her family said.

She had been on life support and underwent multiple operations, with Joshua Stewart on Tuesday sharing his sister had been brought out of the induced coma for a short period of time to talk to her loved ones.

"Doctors were able to extubate Leah and reduce her level of sedation to bring her out of the induced coma for a short period of time," Mr Stewart said in a statement posted to an online fundraiser for Ms Stewart.

"This allowed Leah to share her first words 'I love you' with her Mum and partner Fernando who have been by her side in ICU since the incident.

"Her first thoughts were with her daughter August and wanted to check she was OK."

Mr Stewart said the "wonderful news" came "a lot faster than anyone expected".

"Leah remains in ICU and will continue to require this high level of care and support for some time."

'Long road ahead'

The 34-year-old teacher from Coogee was swimming close to shore in between the flags when she was bitten across her arms and legs, suffering extreme blood loss in the attack.

Off-duty volunteer lifeguard Charlie Verco was paddleboarding nearby and helped Ms Stewart to shore, where members of the public applied tourniquets and CPR before emergency services arrived.

Mr Stewart said his sister had undergone five days of surgery over the past week, with more operations scheduled.

"Leah has a long road ahead and still remains in critical care, but this is such a positive first step and gives us hope for Leah's long term recovery," he said.

Drumlines were deployed shortly after the incident and a flight ban was temporarily lifted to allow shark-spotting drones to survey the water, despite the beach's proximity to Sydney Airport.

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Civil aviation authorities later made an arrangement for drones to be used at the beach permanently.

NSW Premier Chris Minns in the wake of the attack ruled out culling protected migratory white sharks but not bull sharks, which he said "posed a real threat" to harbour swimmers.

More than $480,000 has been raised to support Ms Stewart and her family.

There were a number of shark-related incidents at beaches across NSW earlier this year, with 11-year-old Nico Antic dying in hospital after he was attacked at Vaucluse.

Meanwhile, musician Andre de Ruyter lost his leg after he was bitten by a suspected bull shark at Manly beach.